Two instructors from the football association of people's republic of China visited Japan to see a grass roots football in general for about a month from Monday, September 15. They came over Tokyo, Osaka and Mie during their stay, watching trainings and tournaments of J-clubs and city's clubs as well as events such as "JFA UNIQLO Soccer Kids" and "JFA KIRIN Ladies / Girls Football Festival". They also went and looked around various Japan's grass roots football activities with great attention, including not only for those to young children or elementary school students, but also club activities of junior high school as well as high school and trainings of the youth generations. Adding to those, they went through their month stay with vigorous opinion exchanges with Japanese football related people.

This visit was realized as a long term exchange program sponsored by the Japan Foundation. The Japan Foundation has organized or supported many international cultural exchanges events on culture, art, Japanese study as well as intellectual exchanges in various countries. Other programs, for example, JFA Women's International Coaching Course 2014 and the tour to see Japanese women's football by Chinese football association's instructors in last September, were also supported by the Foundation. Chinese football association is planning to send its delegation to Japan to see fostering youth generations in November and to see a instructors training course in December.

コメント

Mr. Yang Hao, a member of the delegation of Chinese football association
I appreciate very much the support from the Japan football association and everyone involved with Japanese football for a month. I learned a lot and had good experiences through exchanges with Japanese football officials, many grass roots football events, trainings and tournaments during visit. I will feed back what I learned and felt in Japan to those concerned with Chinese football, and hope to contribute to developing football not only in China but also in a whole Asia.

Mr. Liu Jiaqi, a member of the delegation of Chinese football association
I finally realized why Japanese football became strengthened through my actual visit to see grass roots football in Japan. Through opportunities to communicate with Japanese football officials and to see trainings as well as football events, I was impressed by their passions and sense of responsibility toward football. I believe this was exactly the key for Japanese football to get stronger. I am willing to share my experiences in this visit with related people in my country in order to facilitate Chinese football officials to have those kind of passions and feelings. I wish growing a number of football exchanges between Japan and China will get a whole Asian football become more strengthened.